Identity

We are always in the process of becoming. We are born, and in being born the opportunity for growth is inevitably grasped, as remaining stagnant is not possible. Our minds are naturally capable of acquiring knowledge, and so they do. Whether consciously or not, we become…in every second of every day from our first breath to our last, we learn, grow and become.

Our bodies are, after all, inscriptive surfaces. Everything we perceive and conceive has been previously formulated by the environment we live in and the people surrounding us. Our ‘preferences’, even our cognitive processes, have been molded by the mental, physical, psychological, spiritual experiences we have been having since birth.

So then, to define identity as a fixed something is folly. Who we think we are in this moment: what we believe in, what we practice, our likes and dislikes, our dreams, hopes, fears… all of this changes at some point or another as we learn and grow. Our constant interaction with the world around us leaves us with lasting impressions that alter our beings to some extent.

Thus, we must not frustrate ourselves with the constant quest to discern “Who am I?” Rather, we must understand the factors that are continually contributing to our education, knowledge and experience, for these create the fundamental building blocks of ‘self’. It is not, then, who we are in this moment that truly matters, but how we have become this person, and how we continue to become the next version of ourselves.